Palin Drops In on Iowa Fair

Probably just a coincidence, but as GOP presidential hopefuls were whipping up their best barbecue ahead of today's straw poll in Ames, Sarah Palin decided to pay a visit yesterday to the Iowa State Fair. Though she contended she was simply accepting an invitation, Palin was well-received: She was mobbed for hours as she made her way through tents, and gamely answered questions from her much maligned "lamestream media" for an hour, reports Politico. “She’s here because it’s the center of the political universe," says the GOP's Iowa chair. "There’s no question.”

Palin was cagey about her intentions, though clearly still flirting with a run. Far from praising any of her potential rivals, she painted a self-portrait in describing the ideal candidate: “That candidate’s not fearing so much what the interpretation is going to be when it comes to the comments and positions you are articulating, but just speaking from the heart, saying, ‘Here’s how I think we can turn the economy around, and here’s what I’ve done in the past to show you truly a foundation of where my beliefs come from of what works in a small town, in a state, in a big industry like oil and gas—what it is that can be done to turn the economy around,’” Palin said. (More Ames straw poll stories.)